Eriksson’s OT goal lifts Stars past Blue Jackets

Posted at: 02/26/2013 10:38 PM
By RUSTY MILLER

(AP) COLUMBUS, Ohio - Loui Eriksson fought off two defenders to get his stick on a rebound and jammed it in 3:03 into overtime to give the Dallas Stars a 5-4 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday night.

Eriksson was being held back by a pair of Blue Jackets but reached for the puck as he was falling and whipped it past goalie Sergei Bobrovsky for the winner.

Cody Eakin had given the Stars a 4-3 lead with 6:24 left in regulation when his shot from the right wing handcuffed Bobrovsky, the puck trickling through his leg pads and across the goal line.

But the Blue Jackets once again tied it _ for the fourth time _ when Nick Foligno tossed a hard pass from the left short boards to R.J. Umberger, who scored from the right hash with just 1:34 remaining to force overtime.

Eakin, Antoine Roussel and Derek Roy each had a goal and an assist. Brenden Morrow scored, and Stephane Robidas and Brenden Dillon each had two assists for the Stars, who had lost three of four coming in.

Cam Atkinson, Nikita Nikitin and Derek Dorsett had the goals for Columbus, which opened a stretch with 10 of the next 12 games coming at home but still lost its third in a row overall and sixth in seven games.

Just before the start, the Stars dealt right wing Michael Ryder and a third-round pick to Montreal for right wing Erik Cole in a swap of veteran forwards. The move came less than 24 hours after Ryder posted the first three-assist game of his career.

The Blue Jackets were making their first appearance at home after a six-game road trip, matching the longest in franchise history. They also were without four of their top players: centers Brandon Dubinsky (knee) and Artem Anisimov (concussion), and defensemen James Wisniewski (broken foot) and Jack Johnson (shoulder).

Down 3-2 going into the third, the Blue Jackets got some puck luck to tie it.

Adrian Aucoin’s shot ricocheted off a Stars player in the crease and ended up in front of Atkinson on the edge of the left circle. He lifted the puck to beat Richard Bachman for his second of the second to square it.

Columbus twice tied it in the second period and each time the Stars came right back with a goal.

Nikitin evened it early in the period at 1-1 on a hard shot from the middle of the blue line that beat Bachman high on the glove side.

About 5 minutes later, Roy got off a shot from the left doorstep that Bobrovsky stopped but couldn’t control. Roy got another whack at the rebound before Bobrovsky and defenseman Tim Erixon could turn and collect the puck. It was his second goal of the year.

Before that score could be announced, the Blue Jackets tied it at 2 when Dorsett pounced on a loose puck and lifted it high over the right shoulder of Bachman for his third of the season.

Less than 3 minutes later, Dallas regained the lead. Robidas slid a cross-ice pass to Dillon at the left blue line. His slap shot was headed wide of the cage but was redirected by Roussel for his fourth.

The Stars got on the board first thanks to a nice centering pass and a lucky bounce.

Eakin carried the puck with pressure along the left wall before sliding a perfect lead pass toward Morrow, who was being closely guarded by a defender. Morrow couldn’t get a stick on the puck but was able to get a skate on it _ jamming it past Bobrovsky, who protested. After a video review, the goal was allowed to stand, giving Morrow his fifth of the year and the 242nd as a Star. That leaves him one behind second-place Jere Lehtinen on the franchise list, well behind leader Mike Modano’s 434.

NOTES: Ryder had points in his final six games (2-7-9) with the Stars. ... Columbus C Derick Brassard sustained an upper-body injury in the second period and did not return. ... The Stars have scored at least three goals in each of their last 11 games. ... Columbus has the worst record in the NHL (5-12-3, 13 points).